Dissident CNET shareholder Jana Partners has officially dropped its proxy battle for control of the company’s board. Rather, it is banking on the pending buyout of the company by CBS Corporation.
Jana, which owns 10.2% of the outstanding shares of CNET, had been pressing for major changes in how the company was being run and was leading a campaign to elect a new board of directors and take control of management. Then the deal to sell CNET to CBS Corp. for $1.8 billion was announced. Jana said in an SEC filing that it is likely the merger will be completed “regardless of any action taken by” Jana prior to the next annual meeting of shareholders, so it has “ceased to pursue” the proxy fight.
